Outside Section 28

SECTION 28.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of health and human services, acting in its capacity as the single state agency under Title XIX of the Social Security Act and as the principal agency for all of the agencies within the executive office and other federally-assisted programs administered by the executive office, may enter into interdepartmental services agreements with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to perform activities that the secretary of health and human services, in consultation with the comptroller, determines appropriate and within the scope of the proper administration of said Title XIX and other federal funding provisions to support the programs and activities of the executive office. The activities may include: (1) providing administrative services including, but not limited to, providing the medical expertise to support or administer utilization management activities, determining eligibility based on disability, supporting case management activities and similar initiatives; (2) providing consulting services related to quality assurance, program evaluation and development, integrity and soundness and project management; and (3) providing activities and services for the purpose of pursuing federal reimbursement or avoiding costs, third-party liability and recouping payments to third parties. Federal reimbursement for any expenditures made by the University of Massachusetts Medical School relative to federally-reimbursable services the University provides under these interdepartmental service agreements or other contracts with the executive office shall be distributed to the University and recorded distinctly in the state accounting system. The secretary may negotiate contingency fees for activities and services related to pursuing federal reimbursement or avoiding costs and the comptroller shall certify these fees and pay them upon the receipt of this revenue, reimbursement or demonstration of costs avoided. Contracts for contingency fees shall not exceed 3 years and shall not be renewed without prior review and approval by the executive office for administration and finance. The secretary shall not pay contingency fees in excess of $40,000,000 for state fiscal year 2014; but contingency fees paid to the University of Massachusetts Medical School under an interagency service agreement for recoveries related to the special disability workload projects shall be excluded from that $40,000,000 limit for fiscal year 2014. The secretary of health and human services shall submit to the secretary of administration and finance and the senate and house committees on ways and means a quarterly report detailing the amounts of the agreements, the ongoing and new projects undertaken by the University, the amounts expended on personnel and the amounts of federal reimbursement and recoupment payments that the University collected.

Summary:
This section enables the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to contract services to the University of Massachusetts to perform them in the most cost-efficient manner.